Tied to a chair, are we?
by Darling M
Summary: AU. Atem finds himself and Bakura tied up by none other than Yuugi and Ryou. Revenge is sweet. Puzzleshipping, Tendershipping. oneshot.


**Disclaimer**: Yuugi, I own you! You belong to me! _-gets killed by Yami and has my corpse sued by Kazuki Takahashi-_ Damn. I guess not.  
**Disclaimer #2**: T-ara, you and your song _Bo Peep_ belong to me! _-gets killed a second time by a flurry of high heels-_ Damn. I guess not.

A/N: You don't know what I'm talking about yet, but later in the story, there'll be a condensed version of Yami and Yuugi's love story so far, which was inspired by a combination of a lot of high school cliche stories I've read on this site, and those are actually what inspired this oneshot. Also, in case I haven't whored this enough in my past author's notes, there're more stories I wrote linked in my bio, in case you want to go take a peek. And yes, I'm actually writing a Peachshipping fanfic, and so I wrote this one because I felt like I would be cheating on my OTP if I didn't. _-sweats-_ Also, **I'll be changing my username** as soon as said Peachshipping fic is posted, in case anyone here is...following me. O.O

A/N #2: I LOVE T-ARA. Please don't misunderstand.

Enjoy, and please review!

. . .

"This is sad."

(Yami) Atem sighed for what felt like the umpteenth time. For the past however minutes he and Bakura (the stupid one) had spent in this room, the latter had reiterated his feelings on the matter in various phrases, ranging from, "This sucks," to "How fucked up can this get, really," and quite often something along the lines of, "I'll kill him. Fuck it that he's my little brother in anything but blood; I'll murder him. And I'll murder _your_ little midget too. Then I'll cut their heads off and drink the blood from their necks."

So it would be hard pressed to blame Atem for sighing like a spoiled princess, which he probably was in a past life, because, after all, he could do nothing to stop this predicament. Sure, he was the most athletic boy in his school. Hell, he was pretty much the "golden boy" of his school: a close knit of friends, immensely popular, teachers' pet (or one of them), inspiring several admirers, and his grades were nothing to laugh at either. But even he didn't stand much of a chance against getting tied to a chair, blindfolded, with one of his archenemies in the same condition behind him, both sitting back-to-back, duct taped together.

Yes, it was all going well for Atem. He actually would have thought that it was, indeed, _still_ going well, if not going incredibly better - for what else could he have thought once Yuugi and himself had mutually agreed to officially become an item? Oh yes, Atem was quite sure he had found his true love, his one true love. (Although he would never admit this aloud, because there're very few things a person can say that sound less cheesier than that.) Then, there was that time when they had said to each other those words: _I love you_, and it was as though every thing Atem had ever done wrong was baptized away, and he would enjoy Yuugi's smiles for the rest of his life, and the little one was so beautiful…!

And then Yuugi tied him up. (And yes, if you had guessed it, Ryou helped.)

See, however glorious and saintly Atem might appear to be when compared to the other beside - or rather, behind him, one must also consider the fact that when being compared to _Bakura_ (the stupid one), just about anyone might appear very good and noble. In truth, Atem was - is - not all unicorns and sparkles either. Although, this does not cease Atem's wishes (or what he would say are his "righteous demands") for him to suffer a punishment more suitable to his own crimes, instead of getting the same treatment as the lowlife who he's now sharing a room with. And duct tape.

Truth be told, Atem knew, somewhere deep inside of himself, somewhere he usually looked away from, that something like this would be coming. Getting away with how he had treated Yuugi could have only gotten so far before the sweet little thing had enough, and Atem supposed that it's been a long time coming. (But must it be with this lunatic grumbling behind him? _Surely_-!)

The condensed version of Atem's almost-failing, terribly-bittersweet-to-the-point-of-cavities love story is this: Atem and Yuugi have been friends since they were children, who eventually fell in love, but neither admitted it, and this lasted for years until high school when, by then, the two grew distant due to Atem's strong suggestion (read: demands and death-threats) that they have some space as well as his never-ending insistence that he was straight, but was then threatened by Yuugi's presence once again and thus intentionally pushed him further away by dating several schoolmates and making public displays of affection (and plus) in front of Yuugi whilst simultaneously competing with him in several school and out-of-school events just to spite him, but had finally and reluctantly relented these actions when Yuugi announced that he could be leaving the country with his father, causing Atem to unwittingly set aside his "rivalry" with Yuugi on-hold so that they could timidly enjoy some time together before Yuugi left, had actually had a little fun before coming out of the closet and admitting that he was, indeed, the infamous boy in the stories of a boy teasing the life out of the girl he likes, except instead of it being a girl, it was Yuugi, and when Yuugi had accepted those feelings but refused to return them just yet, Atem proclaimed that he would court and woo the intestines out of Yuugi until he did, regardless of what the older members of his family would think, and thus began their awkward romantic relationship. Of three weeks.

[TL;DR: Atem was (kind of) an ass, but eventually confessed his love to Yuugi, who, though unwilling to return his feelings yet, agreed to give Atem a chance by being his (sort of) boyfriend.]

On the other end, Yuugi was indecisive over going abroad with his father for at least one year for "experimental schooling" (Atem was worried about that phrase, to be honest), but so far hadn't changed his mind. It would be good for him to learn and experience new things with his father there to guide him, for it was always his dream to inherit his father's chain of clothing stores and brand name (Atem insisted that the proper term was "bondage," to which Yuugi responded with a confused look), and then to merge it with stocks of games like his grandfather's game store here, and while he's at it, why not add a cute café-esque image to it, like something his mother wanted…

The fact is, if Yuugi did not change his mind soon, he'd be leaving next month. Atem, of course had mixed feelings about this, and by "mixed feelings," one could probably gather that he wasn't really fond of the idea at all - but of course he only wants what's best for his _aibou_, his partner. After all, that's why he had agreed to come to Yuugi's house, knowing that Ryou and his psychopathic excuse for a boyfriend were also invited, and even acknowledging the absence of real adults since Yuugi had coerced his mother and grandfather to take a week-long vacation at a nearby casino with his father so that they could all spend "some quality time together." Atem had thought that this was Yuugi's way of…well, coping! Coping with having to make a decision over whether to leave his (sort-of) boyfriend or stay and miss an opportunity of a lifetime! Atem had thought that he was making a sacrifice on his part - tolerating being in the same room as that crazy guy with the albino-bat-like hair just to please his partner, when really…really… He really should have seen this coming.

Speaking of which: "What the hell did you do to piss _Ryou_ off?"

He couldn't see Bakura, more so because of the blindfold rather than his back being turned to him, but he did feel the other shift his head slightly in an attempt to turn towards him. The pseudo-albino scoffed, "So it speaks, eh?" Atem pointedly ignored that, and waited for Bakura to confess (with that bitchy attitude Atem knew he had) the sins he had committed to receive this sort of treatment from the boy he called his "light." (If it were anyone but Bakura, Atem would have thought the endearment sweet, but as it was, it only served to make Atem further suspect that something was definitely, definitely _wrong_ with Bakura.)

Atem and Ryou have never been close, but had rather met each other through both Yuugi and Bakura; Yuugi and Ryou had become fast friends, while Bakura, though he had not been Ryou's boyfriend for as long as Atem had known him, always held a noticeable fondness for the boy. Though from what Atem observed when spending time with Ryou could conclude, the boy was rather quiet - though that was more out of shyness then any inner peace or serenity. Even so, he had never known Ryou to raise his voice or express displeasure, much like Yuugi, except Atem knew first-hand how mischievous his little "angel" could get when provoked.

Bakura grunted, and Atem could imagine what the other's face might look like: teeth bared and wearing a large sneer that made him look like a hybrid between a wolf and a very ugly man (however, that this is in Atem's point of view cannot, of course, be ignored). "That little backstabbing son-of-a-fucking antelope got all prissy when I started bad-talking his _sweet and precious Amane-pretty_."

"His sister," Atem mused softly. "Hm. You _are_ a bastard. Ryou loves her more than he loves you, you know. You shouldn't have-"

"_Bingo_, Your Highness!" Bakura snarled. Atem thought that he would probably never stop comparing Bakura to an ugly wolf if this keeps up. "I _told_ him that, as cheesy as this sounds, it's our _anniversary_ - we should be spending time together. Because - _news flash, baby!_ - we're a damn couple. It's what couples _do_, and it's just _one_ mother fucking _day_, but _no_. '_I have to baby-sit_,' he says; and what does he do when I say that I can just keep him company? '_You're not good with children_,' he says, '_I think you should just leave_,' he says. Little bitch," Bakura muttered under his breath. "I hope that sister of yours picks up of one of my knives and plays with it again. I hope it pokes you in the eye. See if I celebrate any anniversary in my life again. _You ain't getting any flowers from me, bi_-"

Before Bakura could complete his proclamation of eternal resentment towards the love of his life, a loud bang was heard beside them. They both jumped, too startled from the previous quiet (as in: quiet in everything else but them) to tell exactly which direction the sound had come from. As it was, Atem knew that they were in the space between the kitchen and the sitting room, but that piece of information seemed, at the moment, quite trivial. Actually, the foremost thing in his mind was an image - an image of a malicious (and somehow somewhat alluring) Yuugi smirking as he inspected the various torture devices he had just laid before him, and said devices looking a lot like what one would see in a dentist's office. Atem gulped, and only realized so when he heard the noise he made. Knives. Bakura spoke of knives - who's to say that Yuugi wasn't suddenly inspired?

The sound of clutter could be heard, like silverware, only making Atem all the more aware of how _little he could move_, and he thus thought it best to repeat a mantra in his mind to keep himself calm, said mantra sounding something like, _"This is Yuugi we're talking about. Yuugi. He won't hurt you, no matter how bad you were, he won't-"_

"Is that meat I smell?" Bakura spoke, his voice too deadpanned to be casual. There was still silence as either Yuugi or Ryou or both were busily preparing various ways of torture and all things illegal, while Atem and Bakura tried unsuccessfully to use only their sense of hearing to discover just _how_ illegal their respective lovers were willing to get.

Finally, a voice spoke, "It's dinner time!" and it barely registered on Atem that it was the first time that hearing Yuugi's voice made him this scared. After hearing the voice, he heard the actual words, and silently mused.

"You're feeding us?" Bakura barked, laughing. He shifted again. "Where's my little light? Is he still upstairs sulking? Hear everything I said?" He mocked. "It figures it would come to this. He never even told me that he loves me. Probably just pulled me along - not that I never suspected it. I knew the little witch had a superiority complex; _me_, the everyday guy falling for _him_, the upper-class mother fucker. I _thought_ he had just agreed to be with me to get some tail. Not like I can blame his virgin ass…"

In the case wherein the reader might be curious as to whether or not Ryou Bakura was in the same room as them, listening, said reader may or may not be pleased to know that he was. It should also be noted that Ryou was trying very hard not to listen to his boyfriend of two months as said boyfriend was _still_ talking ("…probably never even had a girlfriend in middle school, that deprived little…") and instead aided Yuugi in setting the table for the evening meal, which mostly consisted of sushi rolls.

While Ryou, tight-lipped, was staring at the silverware in a way that seemed as though he was contemplating on using one for reasons other than food, Yuugi decided to hum to himself softly, almost completely ignoring Bakura's emo monologue as he smiled to himself. Frequently, the shortest of the boys lifted his gaze from the table towards one of the two (forcibly) seated nearby. Atem would have looked so calm if he wasn't obviously sweating, and the tightly gritted jaw might have been a giveaway too. Suddenly, Yuugi could not resist the urge to giggle, not letting the sight of Atem flinching at the sound going unnoticed.

Bakura also could not ignore the giggle, and abruptly paused his narrative to snap his for-now useless gaze towards the direction of the source. "The fuck are you laughing at?" Honestly, he had never liked that Mutou kid. Sure, Atem acted less like there was something up his ass whenever they were together, and the kid acted nice enough usually, but Bakura knew there was something off about him. In a Stepford Wife sort of way.

Instead of an actual answer, Bakura heard Atem yelp in a way that sounded unbelievably more high than that time Bakura had rigged a cushion the other sat on with cacti, and Yuugi's voice cooing, "Say _ahhhhh_~," followed by what was either Atem coughing or choking - perhaps one after the other.

In fact, Atem had merely yelped from the unmistakable feel of Yuugi crawling onto his lap, something that he would later deny with the utmost fervor (and if he couldn't deny it, he would defend that he was just very scared, and the sudden touch had surprised him is all), and the choking-coughing-gagging sound was actually just a salmon roll being popped into his mouth. Bending over him, Yuugi smiled, which would have made Atem all the more panicked if he saw it because it was far too calm for this context, and began to pet Atem's bangs from his face while saying, "Don't forget to chew," emphasizing the word "chew" and making it sound like "_chuuu~_," which caused Atem to flush go into his first fit of shivers of the night.

At the sound of Atem's muffled response to this treatment, Bakura grew decidedly quiet, barely noticing how his spine had become straight and his back numb at the feel of Atem squirming behind him, before muttering the words, "Oh, shit."

. . .

Only thirty minutes later, the nervous "Oh, shit," Bakura had made when Atem had his first bite of the night's dinner had been replaced by Bakura's new, more angry and frustrated "Ohh, _shit_…!"

This new "Ohh, _shit_…!" was quickly followed by an "I'm _fucking starving_ here, damnit. Where _the fuck_ is _my_ meal? Where the _fuck_'s the meat!"

In response to this, Atem smirked, and if one were to remove his blindfold, one could tell that he was both immensely smug and immensely pleased with Yuugi's form of torture. _As a matter of fact_, Atem thought as Yuugi fed him, by hand, a small piece of beef, _it didn't even taste like his little angel had rigged the food with diarrhea-inducing drugs._ At his soft laughter, the wolf-man hybrid behind him growled.

"Fuck you," Bakura snapped, before turning at all random directions and wringing once more against his bindings and calling out, "Ryou! Fuck damnit, Ryou, I don't care if you tease the bitch out of me anymore, just _feed me_. _Feed me_, Ryou, and I'll-… I'll apologize for smacking the geezer out of your father! Fucking _shit_."

At that, both Yuugi and Atem froze and raised their eyebrows, while Ryou, lounging on the couch, listened to this with intentional indifference. After a short pause, Atem spoke, "You did _what_?"

"Bastard had it coming." Bakura blunted. "He always had it out for me. Gave my Kitten so much shit on how bad I was for his image. Ryou almost dumped me _five times_ already for that high-strung douche. Keh. Always the family-man, aren't you, Kitten?"

Ryou had, by then, surrendered striving to ignore his boyfriend (both Atem and Yuugi wondered, with some concern, if he still was) and begun digging through his bag. Bakura became sullenly quiet, not noticing Ryou emerging from his search with an MP3 player and headphones in his hands. With an exasperated look on his normally passive face, he quickly stalked up to his wild-haired look-alike, and Yuugi slid off Atem's lap.

"What?" Atem spoke, almost demanding that Yuugi get his ass back up here (quite literally) and continue, conflict between Bakura and Ryou or no, when the smaller of the two lovers pecked a chaste kiss on the other's nose.

"Here, have some water, and you're done with dinner for today." Yuugi chirped, smiling as he prodded Atem's lips with a straw. Though his eyebrows were still furrowed, Atem obeyed, and then scowled when he was finished. And then jumped when he heard Bakura scream.

Ryou had fitted the headphones over Bakura's ears and laid the music player on a nearby flower stand, watching with some sadistic sort of pride (that he was almost sure he inherited from his mother's mother) as Bakura did something very similar to writhing from the assault on his ears. It did little use, however, as Ryou had duct taped the headphones to Bakura's forehead.

"It's only fifteen replays," Ryou assured when Yuugi had stared at him with a look of slight worry. "Count on Kaiba Corp. to come up with something like that. And it's not even in high volume. I just happen to know that this isn't Bakura's taste."

"_Uglaaaarguaaa_," Bakura cried, wiggling so much that Atem could have sworn, with much panic, that they almost tipped over.

"You can go to bed now, Yuugi." Ryou said, his tone amused. "I'll clean up the table."

As his partner in crime bade the others a hesitant goodnight, Ryou smiled to himself, resting his gaze at the boy who was unwillingly wearing his headphones, adding silently, _And I want to watch_.

. . .

"_Don't lose your temper  
__So, so, so quickly!  
__Don't lose your temper  
__So, so, so quickly!  
__Don't lose…"_

"You're almost there," Atem comforted, something he never thought he would ever do for the madman sitting behind him until tonight, but it seemed as though Bakura desperately needed it right now. Ryou had, a little while ago, retreated upstairs as well for bed, leaving everything else on the floor he and Bakura occupied quiet - everything else but them, and the music player. It didn't take long before Atem could hear the sound from the headphones, and identify the song playing. He really couldn't blame Bakura for acting like such a pansy, really. "How many is it? I think this is the third to last one. Ryou said fifteen, so I think I'm right."

Bakura made an unintelligible noise, still an octave higher than what he usually sounded like, but it sounded like either he was actually getting more used to Ryou's cruel ways of torture, or he was falling gradually into an abyss of madness. Atem thought that he couldn't really turn out to be that different from this morning, either way.

"_Bo Peep, Bo Peep, Bo Peep,  
__Bo Peep, Bo Peep, Bo Peep,  
__Bo Peep, Ah~!  
__Bo Peep, Bo Peep, Bo Peep,  
__Bo Peep, Bo Peep, Bo Peep,  
__Ah, ah!  
__Bo Peep, Bo Peep, Bo Peep,  
__Bo Peep, Bo Peep…"_

Atem heard Bakura groan in a way that might have been a beginning of a sob, but the calmer of the two chose to mentally look the other way.

Then Bakura sang, "_Ah~…!_"

. . .

Atem got the feeling that it was late. Bakura's torture by song had ended quite a while ago, to which Bakura had thanked the good fate that it was with a grateful if but deranged cackle. Even so, Atem found the heavy silence in itself to be a sort of torture. Did the two other boys upstairs believe it to be revenge to keep them tied together for a whole night? Atem had to admit that yes, it was, because no matter how sullen and brooding Bakura got, the fact that it was still Bakura close to him still got to his nerves (and he'd be delirious to think that the feeling wasn't mutual), but this punishment, on his part, seemed to be going rather swimmingly - almost too easy to get through, especially considering how…_nice_, yes, _very nice_ - and _warm_…Yuugi was when feeding him dinner. Why, Atem _must_ ask him to do that again…

However swimmingly the night seemed to be waning, it was short-lived, for Atem was never so much of a swimmer - it was the one sport he didn't seem to have much of an edge in.

The sound of someone coming downstairs was ignored, for the most part. Atem didn't know whether or not Bakura was sleeping, but if he wasn't, he felt that he could rightly assume that Bakura was thinking the same thing he was: that their punishment was, indeed, to spend the rest of the night in discomfort with said discomfort amplified due to having to share this experience with one another. So when Atem felt something - or someone - slide into his lap again, he gave a soft grunt of surprise. If but pleasant surprise.

"Did you get any sleep?" Yuugi whispered, and Atem blushed once more at the feeling of Yuugi's breath so close to his mouth. Bubble gum. So Yuugi used kids' toothpaste.

Instead of answering, Atem leaned forward, only to have a slim finger block his lips from the other's. Atem stilled, allowing Yuugi to move his finger over his face, then his whole hand, then trace his jaw, and finally bring his fingers to the older boy's chin, tilting it up. Atem shuddered, feeling the little one kiss a spot close to the pulse on his neck, and then nipping it. Even before Yuugi proceeded to make a hickey, Atem groaned, struggling against the tape for the first time since his first few minutes of restraint.

"Pah…" Atem panted, "Pa…Partner… Huh…"

"Huh?" Bakura grumbled. "You dreaming, Your Highness?"

He felt Yuugi smile into his neck, and a finger was raised to cover his lips again. _Be quiet, or we'll have to stop._

"Tch, never pegged you as the type to talk in your sleep," Bakura commented, sighing grumpily. "I hope you say something blackmail-worthy, jackass."

"Hnnnmm," Atem said as Yuugi's hands trailed down, lifting his shirt up to glide his nails on his skin. Then going lower.

However, Yuugi, the lowlife, didn't let his hands travel _that low_. Instead, the bastard rubbed his ass up against what Atem once called his "pet bird" a long, long time ago when he was still producing enough snot to give electric power to a third-world country. So Atem grunted. He would have moved too, if he could - he would have moved a lot. And that's when he realized what the torture would be.

"Oh, shit," Atem moaned. Though he could not move, it did not stop Yuugi from moving - a lot. So much squirming. _So much squirming_. "Oh shit, oh shit…"

"Hey, wake up," Bakura snapped, feeling put through enough as it was. There was only so much useless crap he could take from one night, and he was still kind of hungry. He might be able to ignore that feeling if he could just fall back asleep again, but _this _asshole had to first shut it-

"Partner," Atem panted, louder. "Yuugi. Yuugi, stop. Ahh. Oh, fuck. Huh. Stop."

"…"

"Shh," a third voice spoke, and Bakura once more went still and silent with a straight, alert spine.

"Yuugi, Yuugi…"

"No," Bakura said slowly. "He wouldn't."

And when Atem moaned, "Faster, Yuugi… _Partner_, you have to go _faster_. I can't-" Bakura's resolve broke.

"_**Ryouuu**_," He screamed, wriggling in his seat so much that he actually caused the heavy chairs movement, and did not stop. "_Ryou_! _Ryou, they're going to have __**sex**__, Ryou- They're going to have sex and they won't let me __**leave**__, Ryou_! **Ryou**, _Ryou_, _**help**_-"

"_Bakura, shut up_," Atem roared. "Shut _up_, shut _up_, this is-"

"_Don't you __**dare**__ have an orgasm _or _some shit_ while _I'm_ here, fuckers!" Bakura relented, rocking harder. "I don't _care_ if you're into bondage all of a sudden. I don't _care_ if I punched Ryou's dad, _I don't deserve this!_ Fuck, Ryou! _Fuck!_ Turn on this music player again. _Turn it on_."

As though fate were a cruel bitch who had it out for Bakura for the time he wore a golden necklace with sharp dangling rods and made a mission to stab as may people with those pointy objects as he possibly could in the time limit of three days, the moment Bakura initiated a particularly risky tip of the chairs, a loud, singular moan was made by one Yuugi Mutou, who, being on Atem's very far-from-uneventful lap, was the recipient of a rather pleasurable feeling that was the product of: (one) his own movements, (two) Atem's said very far-from-uneventful lap, and (three) the movement of the chairs by Bakura (the stupid one) himself. This moan, of course, made Bakura cease his movements immediately, and also made Atem's lap all the more eventful. Or, rather, the area near his lap, if one desires specifics.

"Oh, crap," Bakura groaned, though unlike the other two occupants of the room, not in pleasure. "I'm going to die."

"Stop being a cock-block. Please," Atem nearly begged the man behind him. "Just stop being a cock-block."

"No," Bakura seethed. "While you two attempt to get it on, _I_ will tell you an endearing tale about the first puppy I hunted, captured, and ate - and afterwards I left the bones on the welcome mat of your mom-"

"Oh," Yuugi teased, "your pants look tight, _Pharaoh_. Maybe I should take them off? Only if you do the same for me, first…"

"Wughaa," was what both Atem and Bakura simultaneously groaned, though both for very different reasons and with very different tones of frustration.

Throughout this whole scene, Yuugi had deliberately not kissed Atem on the lips, something Atem was only made aware of when he felt Yuugi's breath near his own lips again. Before Atem could attempt to lean forward, however, Yuugi had gripped the hair on the back of Atem's head, forcing the other still and earning a growl of protest as well. Yuugi raised a brow at that, but otherwise continued to his destination and nipped at the other's ear, then kissed his neck again. Just for good measure, he emitted another moan, noticing Atem flush and gnaw at his teeth, before sliding off of his lap.

"Wait. No." Atem said quickly, comprehension mixing with his frustration and forming itself into a small fit of rage. "Don't leave. You can't. Yuugi. …Yuugi! _Yuugi!_" Unfortunately, this third "_Yuugi_" was also accompanied by the boy's footsteps going up the stairs, which made it Atem's turn to begin rocking the chairs passionately, and not even with the type of passion he had just been looking forward to. "_Yuugi! __**Yuugi**__!_"

"Damn," Bakura whistled. "I gotta hand it to him. He sure made you sound like a bitch."

"_Shut up_, Bakura," Atem growled. "For all I know, this is entirely _your fault_. _Your fault_. Maybe if you had stopped _yapping_-"

"Maybe if you had enough _decency_ to _not have sex while I'm here_-"

"_We weren't going to_!" Atem yelled hysterically. "We were only going to take it so far! I just needed him _for a little bit more_. _I just needed him to keep going_-"

"Stop talking to me."

"-_for a little bit more, damnit_. _Do you know how long I've been waiting for that? And when he finally comes to me, he doesn't finish! I need release, damnit! Yuugi, get down here - I __**need**_-"

"_He's not coming and I don't want to know what the fuck you need, fucker!_"

. . .

Atem was still growling when he murmured, "We need to work together."

Bakura acknowledged this, despite it being Atem who was proposing a temporary partnership. Normally, that would cause Bakura to scoff or stare at him and wonder if maybe Atem was replaced with a robot-clone (who at least had nothing stuck up his ass), but tonight was An Exception. Yes, with capital letters. Bakura thought to himself that maybe working with Atem couldn't hurt if it was worth a little revenge (and by "a little," Bakura meant ten bitch-slaps per twenty bitches, himself and the snob behind him included).

"I figure that maybe we could move if we rock ourselves in unison." Atem said. "But we also need to factor in that we're both blind and thus it's hard to know exactly which direction we're supposed to go to find an object sharp enough to break through our binds. It's probably impossible to get rid of the blindfolds in the position that we're in now. So. Do you have photographic memory?"

"No," Bakura sneered. "But I'm pretty sure the kitchen is in front of you." It was roughly where he had heard all the clutter come from.

"Right. I think I remember the layout of the place. I'm pretty sure I know where he keeps the knives." Atem braced himself. "Ready?"

"…To rock?"

Atem replied with a lame silence before speaking, "Towards where I'm facing. I don't know how you'll be able to move from your position right now, so just help if you can. Three, two…

"One!"

. . .

It was dark in the room, and quiet. Far too easy, they both thought. After all, the door wasn't even fully closed. It looked like bait. It looked like they were walking into a trap. But they had come too far now to stop. If anything, they'd sneak into the room through one of the two windows Atem _knew_ Yuugi had in his bedroom.

How long had it taken them to find a damn knife? Not only had they failed in their attempt to be quiet about it - to make sure that the two targets would not wake up or become alerted - but Atem had entrusted _Bakura_ to be responsible with _a knife_. That was a risk worth a lifetime.

Cutting free of the tape and rope had taken double, if not more, of the time it took them to get to the knife; it was raunchy, and painful. In order to obtain the knife in the first place, they both realized, with dread, that they would first have to knock the knife down to the floor on the small carpet next to the sink, then rock themselves down next to the carpet, reach for the knife, and cut off the bindings that were tying at least one of their hands. It had not been fun, especially since Bakura couldn't see where he was cutting. Luckily, (Atem never thought he'd ever consider this as something fortunate) Bakura seemed to have acute skills when it came to the blade.

It was a long and hard process, but they'd done it. It was early morning, and they were both tired but angry, and Atem still wanted to finish what Yuugi had started. Or maybe he could just wreck his revenge in the same way Yuugi had tortured him. _Fuck_ whether or not he had it coming to him, Yuugi was going to pay.

So when they had finally opened the door to Yuugi's bedroom and found no sign of Ryou anywhere, and Bakura cursed softly and sprinted out of the house, heading for the apartment where his "light" lived, Atem felt little concern. Because there his little Yuugi was, looking like he just woke up, staring at him with a mix of smugness and expectance. And Atem smiled back.

. . .

Bakura finally found Ryou the next day. It was afternoon, by the Game Shop, where the worst night of Bakura's life - last night - had taken place, and he had probably cursed more in one night than he had for the rest of the whole fucking year. (Because, honestly, he was usually such a quiet guy - silent, secluded, with a fuck-off attitude that usually left him with no need to speak at all.) Spotting Ryou eyeing a certain second-story window, Bakura glared. He knew who to blame.

"You," he hissed softly, stalking up to his little kitten. "Where the fuck were you?"

"Spending time with my bastard of a father," Ryou answered dully, though his smile held some fondness. "At least that's what you'd say. I figured that there was a chance you two would escape, somehow, what with all the ruckus you were making last night. I told Yuugi that we should do something about it, but I think he was feeling guilty. So was I, but he wanted to see how Atem would react to what happened more than I did, so he told me to go home. And you?"

Bakura spit on the sidewalk, sneering, "Around." He had spent a good portion of the morning going to all the landmarks he regularly associated with Ryou, from places he had gone with Ryou to, to places that just reminded Bakura of him, all the while searching for him. Bakura didn't know exactly what he'd do once he'd find him - maybe hit him a little, but Bakura doubted it be more than a few playful smacks, regardless of revenge…because, in truth, he'd probably be a little mad if someone had smacked his father, too, he supposed. And dissed his sister. And stolen some of his mother's jewelry.

Eventually, Bakura had gotten tired, and retreated into his own house to rest, only to continue his search as soon as he woke.

Without another word, Ryou began walking to the side of the Game Shop, and Bakura listlessly followed. He didn't know where this left them, didn't know if Ryou was going to give him a talk about why people break up and the importance of moving on while remaining friends. He didn't think Ryou would _leave_ him, really, because he figured that, after last night, the other deemed them _even_. However, he couldn't rule out the possibility…

Bakura paused, watching curiously as Ryou begun climbing up the tree beside the shop, before deciding to imitate his lover while asking, "What are you planning now?"

Ryou grunted as he continued his ascent, answering, "I want to see if Yuugi's alright. I had just rung the bell, and Atem answered. Do you know what he said? He said, '_Yuugi's not feeling very active right now_,' said, '_He's laying down_…_can't help it_…_practically attached to the bed_,' I want to see if he's treating Yuugi fairly."

By the time he finished, Ryou had already reached the large branch which brought him in sight and in-reach of Yuugi's window. The curtain, predictably, was drawn to conceal whatever was on the other side, and Ryou scowled. Feeling a hand on his arm, he turned and found Bakura staring at him with a blank, stony expression.

"You're a voyeur, aren't you?"

Ryou huffed and shrugged out of Bakura's hold.

. . .

Atem didn't know what to do. He was feeling inconsolable. He thought to himself of all the times he and Yuugi had made love - ever since their first time the day after, what Bakura calls, The Event. Even though Yuugi's father owned a chain of (bondage) questionable clothing stores, Atem really never expected Yuugi to be into that sort of thing until that night. The boy had always seemed more so…chaste. Innocent. Alas, however, Atem couldn't say that he was shocked. If anything, it left the conclusions of their late night activities with Atem feeling rather pleased. Sated.

This was fine with Atem, if it weren't for the fact that Yuugi was still leaving. Tomorrow morning. He took his time, now, feeling the softness of Yuugi's cheek, taking in how round his angel's face was, how warm it was to wake up with this sleeping form beside him, both of them in what those more literary and romantic will often call the "afterglow of love." Atem never thought he'd be the cheesy kind of lover, the sappy boyfriend, but with Yuugi, he hardly ever noticed, and now with Yuugi leaving the upcoming morning, he didn't care. He was going to miss him.

He was also going to worry about Yuugi's little kink. In that type of business, Atem was worried that his partner would encounter countless perverts, and he wouldn't be there to protect him, never mind kill anyone who looked interested in him. The comforting fact that Yuugi would never cheat honestly helped less than the assurance of his father's constant presence, because Yuugi had always seemed too naïve; he'd probably interpret someone trying to cop a feel as a helpful citizen merely smoothing out the wrinkles of his shirt or dusting the dust off of his pants, and Atem couldn't be there to act like the clingy, possessive, bitchy girlfriend he really was.

Of course, this was all just an excuse, he knew, that he constantly threw at Yuugi's face to try and indirectly convince him not to go. He couldn't just outright ask of Yuugi not to go; this was Yuugi's _future_, the start of his dream. He'd never forgive himself if Yuugi agreed to stay just because Atem had asked it of him, but that didn't stop Atem from wanting him to anyway.

Maybe if he just had more time. Maybe if he'd accepted his feelings for Yuugi sooner, spent more time with him that didn't consist of feigning indifference, Yuugi would've had time to change his mind and discuss terms of location, and his father could probably remain here and teach Yuugi all he knew at a more convenient distance. These were useless thoughts, but Atem wanted to face this, wanted this separation to hurt. Get it over with - and then pretend that Yuugi would be back in no time at all.

"I can't," Atem told him, ignoring the fact that the other was asleep, "I can't see you off."

Yuugi didn't stir, and Atem didn't feel like he was just playing dead either, but he continued, not knowing if he'd have the heart to say this again to Yuugi's conscious face once he woke up.

"I can't come to the airport with you. I'll ask you to stay if I do. I'll _tell_ you to, I will…"

And he rubbed his thumb on Yuugi's cheek, like rubbing away that imaginary tear would wipe away all of his.

. . .

**FIN**

. . .


End file.
